Rooney starts, stars but cannot finish

Everton 0 Bolton Wanderers

Bolton manager Sam Allardyce believes Everton's current success is built on their ability to keep a clean sheet, and if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, his side paid his opposite number David Moyes the greatest of tributes.

They held firm in the face of extreme Everton pressure, and might have stolen all three points had Jay Jay Okocha's free-kick not hit the bar, as had the talismanic Wayne Rooney at the other end minutes earlier.

Not for the first time the teenaged Rooney outshone his elders. His close control, his mature positional sense and his pace on the ball caused all sorts of problems for a Bolton rearguard, which had previously failed to inspire confidence. But he also contrived to miss a hatful of chances.

The 17-year-old is normally restricted to painting cameos as a substitute, but having made the starting line-up he seized the chance to embroider his colourful skills across a broader canvas.

He enhanced his burgeoning reputation by generating electricity all round Goodison every time he touched the ball, which the current seemed to keep magnetised to his foot.

A series of mazy runs into the Bolton penalty area had defenders falling before him like nine pins, but for once – despite, or perhaps because of the expectations heaped on him – his final touch let him down.

"Rooney was outstanding," said Moyes, "but he needed to score and he didn't take his opportunities, even though he made most of them himself.'' Rooney gave notice of his intent when Lee Carsley released him down the right allowing him to engineer a corner, which Jussi Jaaskelainen did well to punch away. The Finnish goalkeeper was to frustrate him all afternoon with an impressive display behind a back four which, though occasionally overawed by Rooney, kept their shape well.

That gave the forward players some confidence, and for the final 10 minutes it was Everton who had to fall back on their defensive qualities.

Despite scoring twice in their Boxing Day defeat of Newcastle, striker Michael Ricketts was left to plough a lone furrow for much of the match as Everton pinned Bolton back, with Rooney bursting like a jack-in-the-box out of midfield at every opportunity and Alessandro Pistone and Gary Naysmith running them ragged down the left.

Ivan Campo fell flat on his face as Rooney galloped towards him, but the youngster chose to cross rather than shoot, and another chance went begging.

Rooney's tight control frustrated Bolton so much that Per Frandsen brought him down as he left a little knot of defenders floundering, and the Dane was booked for his trouble.

But Rooney's precocious skills sometimes got the better of him. He beat three defenders as he cut into the penalty area, then opted to shoot straight at Jaaskelainen when laying the ball back might have paid greater dividends. On the stroke of half-time he was away again, and seemed to be pulled back as his shot was deflected for a corner, from which he flashed a drive across the face of the Bolton goal.

If that had gone in there is little doubt Everton would have taken all three points, but their finishing did not improve when leading scorer Tomasz Radzinski replaced the injured Kevin Campbell 10 minutes into the second period. Jaaskelainen made a fine one-handed save from Rooney after he had given the youngster the ball, and then fell at his feet to deny him again.

The youngest player on the pitch may have stolen the show in this encounter between two of the football league's founder members, but Bolton were happy with a rare clean sheet.

"This was a moral victory for us,'' said Allardyce. "Our first priority was to stop them scoring, and we succeeded magnificently.''

Everton 0 Bolton Wanderers 0

Attendance: 39,480